The Anniversary of Pope Francis's Election

By Fr. Conor Donnelly

(Proofread)

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

My Lord and my God, I firmly believe that you are here, that you see me, that you hear me. I adore you with profound reverence. I ask your pardon for my sins and grace to make this time of prayer fruitful. My Immaculate Mother, Saint Joseph, my father and lord, my guardian angel, intercede for me.

“Jesus said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered and said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’

“Jesus, answering, said to him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed it to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth, it will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose upon earth, it shall be loosed in heaven” (Matt. 16:15-19).

Our Lord initially takes a type of opinion poll: “Who do people say that I am?” And He gets all sorts of answers: “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, others Jeremiah…” (Matt. 16:14).

But then He presses the apostles: “Who do you say that I am?” He wants to hear it from them.

And as often, Simon Peter is the one who takes the initiative and speaks up, and he makes this great act of faith. “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

In some ways, it's the high point of Peter's life during the time of Our Lord. From here on in, it's going to be a bit downhill. But for the moment, he makes this great act of faith.

And Jesus, answering, said to him, “Blessed are you.” He tells him that he's been the subject of a special revelation from God: “For flesh and blood have not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven.”

He said to him, “You are Peter, and upon this rock, I will build my Church.”

Christ chooses Peter. It’s very important for us to follow Peter. Christ chose Peter. The media might have chosen John. But Christ chose Peter.

Down through history, all the Peters that God has chosen have been the Vicar of Christ on earth and He has mentioned to us, in many ways, the importance of being “united to the vine” (John 15:4). United to Peter.

In the book of Cardinal George Pell that I'm reading at the moment, he says that when he's talking to Confirmation students, he reminds them that Peter is the rock. And he says, “You know, if you want, you can call him Rocky.”

All through that book of Cardinal Pell, you see a wonderful unity to the seat of Peter. There is life in unity.

We have to try and be very focused on Peter. This anniversary of the election of Pope Francis is an occasion for us to remind ourselves that he is Peter.

When Pope Benedict was elected, many people said he was the successor of John Paul the Great or Pope John Paul II. But he made a point that “I'm not just the successor of John Paul II; I'm the successor of Peter.”

And before going out to the installation ceremony in St. Peter's Square, he went down and vested at the tomb of Peter—to make that very visible gesture, to remind everybody of the importance of Peter, of being united to the rock.

“Upon this rock, I will build my Church”—and not on some other rock—“and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.”

Peter has the keys. If somebody else comes along claiming to be Pope—and there have been many times in history when there have been three or four people claiming to be popes—even if they work miracles or do all sorts of amazing things, it's Peter in Rome who has the keys of the kingdom of heaven.

Therefore, for our salvation, for our spiritual strength and fruit, Peter is the way to go. We can try and increase our love for Peter, our veneration for Peter, our unity to Peter.

Try and read what Peter has to say. It’s very important nowadays to listen to the actual words of Peter. Or look at the specific news outlets that we know will faithfully transmit what the Pope is saying.

Pope Francis has talked one million times about holiness in his Pontificate so far, but it's hardly ever mentioned to the media because it's not part of their agenda.

We have to go to the sources to hear exactly what the Pope has said on particular things because he has the keys.

“When therefore they had dined, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.’ He said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’

“He said to him again, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ He said, ‘Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.’ He said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’

“He said to him the third time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was grieved because he had said to him the third time, Do you love me? And he said to him, ‘Lord, you know all things. You know that I love you.’ He said to him, ‘Feed my sheep’” (John 21:15-17).

Peter grows to a new responsibility. His initial conversion was his initial conversion. But later on, there are deeper conversions that are more important.

“Our Lord says to him, ‘Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you walked where you wanted to walk. But when you're older, you should stretch out your hand and another will guide you and lead you to where you might have preferred not to go’” (John 21:18).

Christ has given Peter a great mission. We can thank God for the fact that we have the Pope, that we know who he is, and that we have this Vicar of Christ on earth.

Many of the churches in the world do not have the symbol of unity that we have; the grace of state that is there in a very special way.

Many years ago, I was with a group of university students who were being shown around the Vatican Gardens by a man who was then the secretary of John Paul II. We came to a statue of St. Peter in the Vatican Gardens.

It was a statue of a young St. Peter with chains falling from his hands, in the moment when Peter in prison realizes that he's being loosed from his bonds (Acts 12:7). The sculptor caught him at that particular moment.

This priest told us, “This is my favorite statue in the Vatican Gardens. I like to come here to pray to Peter for Peter, because I am the servant of Peter. If you think about it, probably of all the saints in heaven, the one that is closest to the Pope is St. Peter. So I come to pray to Peter for Peter.” It was rather beautiful.

Pope Francis has become known for his emphasis on God's merciful love for all people, regardless of their religious beliefs.

We see the Pope at 80-plus years of age, making trips around the world, doing things that few people would do at his age, going to places that few people and few leaders of the world would go. It's great leadership.

In Chapter 1 of Evangelium gaudium–The Joy of the Gospel, he says the Church is a “missionary transformation.”

And he speaks of a “dream of a missionary impulse capable of transforming everything, so that the Church's customs...and structures can be suitably channeled for the evangelization of today's world rather than for her self-preservation.”

Pope Francis speaks a lot about evangelization, missionary outreach, apostolate. He says “missionary outreach is paradigmatic for all the Church's activity.”

We are called to be apostles. We don't just do apostolate, but we have to be apostles in every moment of our lives. He says it is “the entire people of God which evangelizes,” called by their Baptism to be “missionary disciples.”

I heard somebody saying once that the Second Vatican Council changed the meaning of the word “missionary.” Beforehand, a missionary was somebody who went away to a faraway place and there conducted his mission far away from where he was born, where he had lived. He was sent to this faraway place.

But the Second Vatican Council, with its importance on the laity, began to talk about the mission of every baptized person in the middle of the world.

Suddenly, every Christian became a missionary. We are all sent to our profession, to our neighborhood, to certain areas of society. Churches come to change the world.

He said we should be “troubled in conscience…that so many of our brothers and sisters live without the sense of purpose and consolation...that come from knowing Jesus Christ, and without a faith community to support them.”

One of the first gestures of Pope Francis when he was elected was to go to the island of Lampedusa, an island that probably most of us never heard of, at the foot of Italy in the Mediterranean, a place where many of the refugees’ boats coming from the Middle East have been landing.

It was a gesture of outreach for refugees, for the boat people, sort of a message to each one of us that we have to look out for the most vulnerable people in society. At any age, we have to be ready to do what we can to welcome and to help other people.

He reveals the focus of his own life by mentioning the personal name of Jesus 125 times in that document, Evangelium gaudium.

He speaks of the Church as “a mother with an open heart,” constantly in need of communicating better, becoming “weak with the weak...everything for everyone” (1 Cor. 9:22). It's a sentiment that's expressed very much in St. Paul's writings.

Pope Francis has talked about how “the hour of the laity has arrived” (Pope Francis, Letter, March 19, 2016). The hour of the laity. That has to weigh on our conscience.

We can thank God for the Pope that he's given to us. Pray for his intentions. Pray for his strength, for all the good things that he's doing.

“He has elevated the healing mission of the Church—the Church as servant and comforter of hurting people, often in a harsh world” (Time Magazine, The People’s Pope, December 11, 2013).

We shouldn't entertain any criticisms of the Pope. We shouldn't allow other people either to entertain such criticisms.

We pray for the Pope. We try and be united with him; try and help him in what he's doing; try and support him in every way and teach our children to do the same thing.

Pope Francis quotes St. Ambrose in talking about the Communion bread. He says it's “not a prize for the perfect but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak” (cf. St. Ambrose, De Sacramentis). “Powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak.”

We all need our Communion. We need the Bread of Life. He says it's not a private prayer, but a beautiful spiritual exercise, a means of one's transformation. One's taking on the heart of Christ.

Peaceable, forgiving, reconciling, in solidarity with all.

He says, “A sacrament is not a magical rite, but rather the instrument God has chosen to continue to walk beside man as his traveling companion through life” (Pope Francis, Homily, Sept. 24, 2013).

As always, whenever any Pope issues a document, it's very good for us to go and read those documents. What exactly is the Pope saying? We need to be grazing where he is grazing and grow up to drink in those gems of life and truth and formation that come from his hands.

He said, “The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, ...even the atheists. Everyone! ... We are created “children in the likeness of God” (Gen. 1:27) ... and we all have a duty to do good” (Pope Francis, Homily, May 22, 2013).

Pope Francis also points to the Last Judgment scene in the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 25, as proof of how God judges (Angelus, Nov. 26, 2017): what we do for the poor, the hungry, the indigent, the outcast, those who suffer and are alone—all these things we do for these people—Our Lord regards as done to Himself (cf. Matt. 25:31-46).

He points to the Beatitudes as showing what gives deep happiness, what Catholics should strive to live up to every day, being poor in spirit and meek and humble of heart, merciful, peacemakers, hungering and thirsting for righteousness (Pope Francis, General Audience, Aug. 6, 2014).

Pope Francis chose for his motto Miserando atque eligendo, which means “by having mercy and by selecting,” which refers to Our Lord's selection for apostleship. Matthew, the tax collector, was considered unclean by Jewish law (cf. Matt. 9:11).

In Evangelii gaudium, he mentions God's mercy thirty-two times. He said, “God never tires of forgiving us; we are the ones who tire of seeking his mercy.”

In 2016, the Holy Father gave us a year-long celebration of God's mercy (Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, Misericordiae vultus).

It's interesting to look back now and see the significance of those gestures. He described mercy as fundamental to the pastoral sense, which he enjoins in all those who would exercise ministry in the Church.

He writes, “By becoming flesh, God's Son summoned us to the revolution of tenderness.” He mentions tenderness eleven times in that same document.

The Holy Father has also given a great example of Confession. He has gone to Confession himself and allowed himself to be photographed going to Confession in St. Peter's, and sitting in the confessional box as well.

He also tells a very wonderful story about his own personal vocation, how when he was 16 or so, he was going to some outing or some party with his friends, and on the way there, he happened to pass by a church. He decided just to pop in and make a little visit to the Blessed Sacrament.

When he was there, he noticed that there was a priest hearing Confessions. He decided to go to Confession. And he said, “That Confession changed my life. It was in that Confession I decided to give myself to God.”

He gives a wonderful witness of the power of the sacrament of Confession and the influence of Confession in his own personal life and vocation, how Confession changed his life.

I often think of the priest who heard that Confession. We don't know his name. I think he mentioned he was maybe a little bit elderly. But he was there.

Imagine if that priest had not been in that confessional box. Imagine if he'd been doing something else—how we would have to answer before God on the last day. But he was there fulfilling his duty, out of initiative and responsibility, love for souls.

Little did he know what soul was going to come in the door: the soul of a 16-year-old kid, but a soul for which God had great plans to influence the minds and hearts of souls all over the world, to leave an imprint.

We can pray for priests, and pray for priests in the confessional box. Every time that you go to Confession, maybe, pray for the priest who heard your Confession. Repeat the penance for the sanctity of that priest.

That particular priest gave us a great, anonymous, silent, priestly example of how all of us have to fulfill our duty, and how we don't know how God is going to use that fulfillment of ordinary duty on an ordinary day in incredible ways.

St. Josemaría liked to use the aspiration, “All with Peter to Jesus through Mary” (J. Escrivá, Christ Is Passing By, Point 139; The Way, Point 833). In some ways that aspiration sums up many things.

“All with Peter.” He had a great concern that we'd foster, with Peter, all over the world, unity in the Church. We all have the obligation to do that and to remind our children who is the Pope, and help them to pray for him. “With Peter to Jesus through Mary.”

We have a lot to be grateful for in this Pontificate. We can thank God for the Jubilee Year of Mercy that the Holy Father has given us—his example of piety and austerity.

We've seen how, before each one of his trips, he makes a little quiet, silent, personal pilgrimage to Our Lady in St. Mary Major in Rome, carries usually a small, little bouquet, something small that he's able to carry himself. A small little detail, but it's very rich.

We can thank God for the apostolic stimulus that the Holy Father is giving to the whole world; his closeness to people, especially the most needy; how time and again he has reached out to the homeless in Rome, and similar gestures around the world.

In the Prelature of Opus Dei, we are very grateful for his decision in the exercise of his Petrine ministry to beatify Don Álvaro del Portillo.

Also, when the new Prelate, Don Fernando, was elected, he was appointed as the Prelate of Opus Dei by the Pope on the very same day as his election. A small little detail, but a nice gesture of closeness and of affection.

The previous Prelate of Opus Dei, Don Javier Echevarría, used to say, “Let us pray a lot for the Pope, both for him and for his intentions. The burden that lies on his shoulders is a very heavy one. Divine providence counts on our prayers and sacrifices to give him strength and to make his words effective” (Javier Echevarría, Letter from the Prelate, April 2007).

The Holy Father in the world is the spiritual leader of the world. Without a doubt.

In many ways, he is the real leader of the world. Presidents and prime ministers come and go, and political parties come and go. But the Vicar of Christ on earth remains.

I was rather impressed a year or two ago (in 2018) when Pope Francis made a trip to Dublin for the Mass for the “World Day of Families.”

A journalist was commenting on his arrival and happened to comment that something like 1,300 journalists came with the Holy Father. I can't remember if it was 13,000 or 1,300, but plane-loads of journalists.

The journalist who was writing this article sort of unconsciously said that when President Trump came last year, he had 700—sort of half the number of journalists as the Vicar of Christ on earth, sort of unconsciously saying that really, the Holy Father is the most important person in the world.

It's good that we realize that, and we realize the gift that we have.

Don Javier said, “Let us examine in God's presence how our union with the Pope is going: a unity of prayers, of affections, and of resolutions. Do we pray a lot every day for the intentions of the Holy Father?

“Do we offer up sacrifices and renunciations that cost us a lot? Do we ask other people to pray and to offer periods of work and small mortifications for the Roman Pontiff?

“Do we spread his teachings, which are the doctrine of Christ, and defend them when they are attacked in the media or in private conversations?

This week, the Holy Father is going to Iraq. We can accompany him along that journey. He is breaking new ground, going to countries that perhaps no Pope has ever gone before, visiting small minorities of Catholics in those countries.

“When you are older you will stretch out your hand and another will guide you and lead you where you might prefer not to go” (John 21:18).

God is taking the Holy Father by the hand and leading him to all sorts of wonderful places to bring the message of the social teaching of the Church: the dignity of every human person.

We have great reason to be very proud of our Pope, very proud of our Church, to see how he is one of the instruments of Divine Providence to help the Church, to help humanity in the formation of the culture of the 21st century.

It is a big program and panorama that we have in front of us. The Holy Father leads us to be very Christocentric.

St. Josemaría in The Forge says, “You must love, venerate, pray, and mortify yourself for the Pope, and do so with greater affection each day. He is the foundation stone of the Church and, throughout the centuries, right to the end of time, he carries out among men that task of sanctifying and governing which Jesus entrusted to Peter” (J. Escrivá, The Forge, Point 134).

“You are Peter.” I was present in 1978 when John Paul II was installed. There was a moment when the Cardinals went up to promise obedience to the Pope.

There was something like 120 Cardinals and it took about half an hour, that part of the ceremony. The choir was singing all the time,Tu es Patrus.

Et ego dico tibi, quia tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam, et portae inferi non praevalebunt adversus eam–“You are Peter. And upon this rock, I will build my Church” (Matt. 16:18).

When you hear that phrase sung over and over again for thirty minutes, it sort of does something to you. “You are Peter.” Pope Francis is Peter.

We are told in The Forge: “Your deepest love, your greatest esteem, your most heartfelt veneration, your most complete obedience, and your warmest affection have also to be shown towards the Vicar of Christ on earth towards the Pope. We Catholics should consider that after God and the Most Holy Virgin, Our Mother, the Holy Father comes next in the hierarchy of love and authority” (J. Escrivá, The Forge, Point 135).

St. Josemaría and all the saints emphasize this point very much—tremendous unity and affection for the Holy Father.

When I was about six, my father made me send a Christmas card to the Pope. I didn't know who the Pope was, and I didn't really know why I should send him a Christmas card.

And not only that, but I had to make the Christmas card myself. He got a piece of hard cardboard or hard paper, and I had to draw an Irish mountain and a little cottage in the mountain and a bit of smoke coming out of the chimney.

And then it had to be painted. I was no drawer. I was no artist. It was very, very poor. I made a mistake and I had to do the whole thing again. I had to paint the mountains green, the cottage white, and the smoke gray. It had to be perfect.

Then it was sent off to the Pope. I was very happy to see the back of that. I didn't want to know any more about it.

But then a few months later, a reply came. It was a printed piece of paper with a lot of very big words that I didn't understand. It said, ‘The Secretariat of State of His Holiness acknowledges, et cetera, et cetera.’ This had to be framed and put on the wall.

It took me a couple of years before I could even read the second line, and a long time later before I could understand that this was a note of acknowledgment of having received the birthday card.

The Vatican always replies. But it was only when I joined Opus Dei that I sort of understood that a bit more.

I learned a lot about filial devotion to the Holy Father. That's what my father was trying to teach me at an early age, which I didn't quite understand.

Try and teach your children at an early age who the Pope is, and maybe, to foster in their hearts a desire some day of maybe, trying to go to Rome to see the Pope.

There was an old phrase in Roman times. They used to say, videre Petrum, which means “to see Peter.” People made a pilgrimage to Rome. The whole idea of going to Rome was not to see the ancient treasures of Rome; it was to see the Pope. That's what it was all about.

St, Josemaría says in The Forge, “May the daily consideration of the heavy burden which weighs upon the Pope and the bishops move you to venerate and love them with real affection, and to help them with your prayers” (J. Escrivá, The Forge, Point 136).

The anniversary of the election of Pope Francis is an occasion for us to think a little bit more about the Holy Father, to remember him more in our Mass and our Rosaries, to offer things for him, to see how we can grow in our unity to him, to spread his teachings, to read the things that he says, to be grazing where he's grazing.

What's he thinking about? What are his intentions?—and to see how we can support the Church then in that way.

In the time of John Paul II, an image of Our Lady was placed in St. Peter's Square, because one university student told John Paul II in one of the audiences when the Pope was passing by, “Holy Father, St. Peter's Square is unfinished.”

The Pope had gone on to greet the next person, but then he came back to this student and said, “How do you mean unfinished?”

He said to the Holy Father, "Holy Father, there's no image of Our Lady in St. Peter's Square.”

And the Pope said, “You're right.” Then some people made an image of Our Lady and some architects studied where it might be placed.

Within a year or so, there was a big image of Our Lady placed in St. Peter's Square that looks out over the whole of the square. It carries the crest of John Paul II and the aspiration Mater Ecclesiae is written under it: “Mother of the Church.”

Our Lady is there looking out over the whole of St. Peter's as the Mother of the Church, as though looking out over the whole world, looking out over all of her children, because she's the Mother—the Mother of the Holy Father and the Mother of this flock that God has given to him.

We can ask Our Lady, Mother of the Church, to take care of the Pope, to look after him, to bless all his efforts, to bring an abundant fruit for the Church and the whole world.

I thank you, my God, for the good resolutions, affections, and inspirations that you have communicated to me during this meditation. I ask your help to put them into practice. My Immaculate Mother, Saint Joseph, my father and lord, my guardian angel, intercede for me.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

PKN